Texas Rangers Blog

Notes, quotes, anecdotes from Rangers’ 5-3 win over Boston Wednesday

ARLINGTON – One night, the Rangers waste run-scoring opportunities in five straight innings. One night, they make the most out of late-game chances.

They definitely have a dual identity.

On Wednesday, the Rangers scored single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to take a 5-3 win over Boston and maintain their five-game lead in the AL West over both Anaheim and Oakland. Both the Angels and A’s won big on Wednesday.

The Rangers scored three times in the fourth inning Wednesday to rally back from a 2-0 deficit. The fourth included three hits with runners in scoring position after going 0-for-10 in the previous 10 innings. The fourth also included a run-scoring squeeze bunt. The Rangers scored on a wild pitch in the seventh and on a Nelson Cruz homer in the eighth.

“We executed,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “We put on a hit-and-run and we executed it. We put on a squeeze and we executed it. I think we put a little pressure on their defense. That’s what it’s about.”
Some other thoughts and notes:

• The “situation” regarding payback for the beaning of 3B Adrian Beltre on Tuesday could not have been handled better. With two outs in the first inning, LHP Derek Holland hit Red Sox cleanup hitter Adrian Gonzalez in the buttocks with a fastball on the first pitch. Holland didn’t put the Rangers in jeopardy, didn’t go for any place he could cause bodily harm and went after the equivalent hitter in the Boston lineup (the cleanup man) that Vicente Padilla hit on Tuesday.

Though the Rangers, including Beltre, said they didn’t believe Padilla hit Beltre on purpose, a fastball to the helmet by a guy who leads the majors in hit batsmen over the last 10 years is going to cause retribution. The message to Boston players and manager Bobby Valentine was simple: Regardless of the intent, tell Padilla to cut the bull.

• Twice the Rangers executed in situational hitting opportunities. And both times it was Craig Gentry. He delivered a hit-and-run single in the third and an RBI squeeze bunt in the fourth. The squeeze tied the game at two. Ian Kinsler followed it with a single up the middle.

“I think we put a little pressure on the defense,” Ron Washington said.

That is as dangerous a part of the “small-ball” attack as moving the runner, maybe more. The more you can make opposing defenses take into consideration, the faster it makes the game move in the opponents’ mind and increases the probability of a mistake or hesitation.

• 1B Michael Young had hits in each of his first two at-bats, including a fourth-inning double that began the Rangers’ three-run rally. It was Young’s first extra-base hit of the second half of the season. Young still has gone 266 at-bats since his last homer. It is the second longest homer drought of his career. Young is, however, hitting .320 since July 8.

• On the other hand, there is Nelson Cruz. He has two homers in his last four games, including an eighth-inning shot that gave the Rangers a two-run lead. They are the only two hits in those games. Cruz is hitting .184 since the All-Star break.

• OF Josh Hamilton was the only Ranger without a hit, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout. Hamilton is hitting a seemingly unbelievable .195 since June 1 with a .665 OPS. He hit .368 through May 31 with a 1.184 OPS through May 30. His slugging percentage for the first two months (.764) was 99 points higher than his OPS for the second two months.

• Though he suffered the loss on Tuesday, RHP Joe Nathan converted his 18th consecutive save opportunity on Wednesday with a 1-2-3 ninth. Nathan now has 281 saves, 19 shy of joining the 300 save club.